Petro says he met with the Venezuelan opposition, but they wonder who he met

(CNN in Spanish) — Around noon on Wednesday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro. Reported on their social networks And just as he met on Tuesday with his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro, he did so on Wednesday with sectors of the Venezuelan opposition, he said, “from the perspective of building political peace.” Although he did not specify who he met with, two sources familiar with the matter confirmed to CNN that the meeting was with the presidential candidate of the Un Nuevo Tiempo party, Manuel Rosales.

CNN contacted the Un Nuevo Tiempo team to verify this version, but they would neither confirm nor deny it. But they confirmed that Rosales, the party leader and current governor of Zulia state, is in Caracas. Rosales formalized his candidacy near the close of the application period without obtaining the support of the Unitary Platform, the coalition that brings together the opposition parties.

For its part, the Fenty Venezuela team told CNN that Petro had not met the winner of the opposition primaries, Maria Corina Machado, and that he had not made any contact to request a meeting. CNN's irredentist program also denied holding any meeting with the Colombian president.

In this regard, the leader of the opposition Cosa R party, Andres Velasquez, spoke on their social networks Petro asked him who he met, and he explained that “the Venezuelan opposition is integrated as a group into the platform of democratic unity that signed the Barbados Agreement.” This agreement was signed in October on the Caribbean island by the Venezuelan government and opposition to establish political and electoral guarantees within the framework of the mechanism promoted by Norway in 2022.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Iván Gil, Impeachment of the Colombian president At Maiquetia International Airport on Wednesday afternoon. Later, Petro referred – from the plane – to “Colombian mediation to achieve political peace in Venezuela.” In this regard, he said that he presented a proposal to Maduro to ensure political peace in the country, and that he also spoke with the most important sectors of the opposition, but without mentioning any specific leader. Petro added that they are building a democratic proposal for Venezuela for the well-being of the Venezuelan people.

Machado was disqualified from playing sports and running for public office, an action the presidential candidate deemed illegal and unconstitutional.

On March 26, the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that it was making efforts to urge parties interested in the presidential election process in Venezuela, whether the government or the opposition, to adhere to the Barbados Agreement. At the same time, he expressed concern about the difficulties faced by the Unitary Platform Party and the Viente Venezuela political movement in entering the system and registering their candidates for the elections.

Shortly after, Pietro asserted that “there is no cowardly left” but rather the potential to change the world through deepening democracy; He also noted that, in his opinion, Chavez's magic was proposing democracy and changing the world. This, when commenting on a post about statements by his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro, who stressed that “right-wing governments are silent, and the cowardly left is silent” and unable to condemn the plans attacking La Paz.

On April 2, Petro, considered by many to be an “ally” of the Venezuelan government, said that what happened in Venezuela, by not allowing opposition member Maria Corina Machado to register as a presidential candidate, was an “anti-democratic coup.” “

Presidential elections in Venezuela are scheduled to be held next July 28, and 13 candidates from 37 organizations and political parties will participate, according to the National Electoral Council. Among them is current President Nicolas Maduro, who aspires to re-election for a second time and a third term as government of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela. During the event in which he formalized his registration, Maduro said that on July 28, there will be elections with or without the opposition.